After choosing a specific topic, you will need to locate introductory sources that give basic background information about the subject. Understanding background information at the beginning of your research is important if you are unfamiliar with the subject area. The sources will help you to learn more about the topic.
Dictionary of Environmental Engineering and Wastewater Treatment by
This comprehensive dictionary covers wastewater processes, pollution control, and every major area of environmental engineering used in industry. The alphabetically arranged entries cover key terms used in daily communications and documentation in all research and industrial activities. The several thousand key technical terms are written in easy-to-understand, practical language. The volume is an ideal reference for students and practitioners.
Diccionario Espanol-Ingles de la Electricidad y de las Electronicas by
This one-of-a-kind resource provides quick access to important electrical and electronic concepts in both Spanish and English. A useful training tool for beginners, and a valuable on-the-job reference for experienced electricians and electronic technicians, the Spanish/English Dictionary for Electricity and Electronics addresses the need for clear, concise communication within a multilingual workforce. Accurate, effective communication is critical in these fields where safety and environmental issues are addressed daily; this dictionary becomes an indispensable resource that is unlike anything else on the market. The book's handy, easy-to-use format makes this a must-have for every electrician's toolbox, and a valuable addition to every office that has Spanish - and English - speaking technicians working together in the field.
Comprehensive Dictionary of Electrical Engineering by
Succinct yet comprehensive coverage of the most important terms, acronyms, and definitions made the first edition of the Comprehensive Dictionary of Electrical Engineering a bestseller. Recent advances in many disciplines of this rapidly growing field have made necessary a new edition of this must-have reference. This authoritative lexicon includes more than 1500 additional terms, now supplying more than 11,000 total terms gathered by a stellar international panel of the world's leading experts, compiled from CRC's immensely popular and highly respected handbooks, and accompanied by more than 120 tables and illustrations. New areas to this edition include: Process Control and Instrumentation Embedded Sensors and Systems Biomedical Engineering Hybrid Vehicles Mechatronics Data Storage GIS Includes new terms reflecting the rapid growth in: Computer Electronics Image Processing Nanotechnology Fuel Cells Phillip Laplante has again succeeded in producing an invaluable, up-to-date reference for the entire field of electrical engineering, covering device electronics and applied electrical, microwave, control, power, and digital systems engineering in addition to the new areas listed above. Whether you are a practicing or student electrical engineer or a professional from another field in need of complete and updated information, you need look no further than the Comprehensive Dictionary of Electrical Engineering, Second Edition.
Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia by
The new, three-volume Tenth Edition contains articles contributed by industry experts and scholars worldwide. It comprises more than 10,000 entries and features hundreds of completely rewritten and re-referenced articles, as well as 2,500 completely new entries covering emerging technologies affecting genetics, global warming, communications, informatics, nanotechnology, and more. Internet references and print references have been updated and expanded to reflect the editors' conviction that modern students and researchers move from link to link as well as from page to page.
Encyclopedia of mechanical engineering by 
Historical Dictionary of the Petroleum Industry by
The world as we have known it for the past century would have been very different without petroleum. Petroleum, particularly in the form of crude oil and its refined products, has been central to all aspects of modern industrial society and has been a major strategic geopolitical objective for nations. The 20th century was the age of oil, and at least part of the 21st century will be as well. Petroleum is used as an energy source and as a raw material for the production of an immense variety of chemicals and synthetic materials. Almost all the world's food relies on petroleum for fertilizer, pesticides, cultivation, or transport. Petroleum has been particularly dominant as a source of transportation fuels, an application for which cost-effective substitutes will be especially difficult to find. The Historical Dictionary of the Petroleum Industry presents a concise but complete one-volume reference on the history of the petroleum industry from pre-modern times to the present day. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, and over 400 cross-referenced dictionary entries on companies, people, places, events, technologies, and phenomena related to the history of the world's petroleum industry. Anyone interested in the history, status, and outlook for the petroleum industry will find this book a uniquely valuable source.
Dictionary of Ceramic Science and Engineering by
The third edition of the Dictionary of Ceramic Science and Engineering builds on the heavily revised 2nd edition which, in turn, expanded the original edition by some 4000 entries to include new fabrication, testing, materials, and vocabulary. The proven basis of the first two editions has been retained but new words and phrases have been added from the rapidly advancing electronic, nanoparticle and modern materials engineering fields. Additionally, all measurements in SI units are given to facilitate communication among the many sub-disciplines touched on by ceramics, ensuring that this publication remains the field's standard reference work for years to come. This extended edition of the Dictionary of Ceramic Science and Engineering ably follows its predecessors as an authoritative resource for students, researchers and professionals dealing with the processing of Materials.